In the construction of electronic equipment, the electrical circuitry is, at the present time, most commonly applied to a printed circuit board which mounts various types of electronic components. A common form of an electronic device includes a rectangular body section which has a plurality of probes extending on each side thereof. These type of devices have frequently been called "flat packs" and normally include eight in number of electrical contacts extending from each side of the device.
The normal procedure is to electrically connect each of the electrical contacts of the device to the circuitry on the printed circuit board. These devices are quite small in size and the electrical connections to the printed circuit board are quite fragile. Only a small force is required to cause breakage of the electrical connection of one of these electrical contacts.
At times, one of these electrical devices may fail. This failure may not be readily apparent and therefore it is necessary to electrically test each of the devices mounted upon the board until the faulty device is discovered and then replaced. The normal test procedure is to physically contact the electrical contacts by a hand-held probe assembly. If the probe operator touches an electrical contact with a slightly excessive force, the electrical contact may break or the electrical connection may be weakened. If this does occur, the electrical device then requires replacement which, prior to the initiating of the testing procedure, may not have been necessary.